Richard Strauss | Ariadne auf Naxos (concerted)
Musikalische Leitung
Kent Nagano
General Music Director of Hamburg
Kent Nagano is considered one of today’s outstanding conductors for both operatic and orchestral repertoire. Since September 2015, he has been General Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg. He will be the next Chief conductor and Artistic Director of the Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España (OCNE) in Madrid starting in September 2026. In addition he is, together with Jan Vogler, committed as Artistic Director of the Ring project “The Wagner Cycles” of Dresdner Musikfestspiele with Dresdner Festspielorchester and Concerto Köln, and as patron of the Herrenchiemsee Festival. He has been Honorary Conductor of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin since 2006, Concerto Köln since 2019, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal since 2021 and the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester since 2023.
The 2024/25 season is Kent Nagano's last season as General Music Director in Hamburg and brings four new productions to the Staatsoper under Nagano's musical direction: Carl Orff's Trionfi, Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, Unsuk Chin's The Dark Side of the Moon, and Rodolphe Bruneau-Boulmier's The Illusions of William Mallory. Furthermore, he conducts symphony concerts with the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester in the Elbphilharmonie as he does every season, including the New Year's performance and the world premiere of Alex Nante's symphony Anahata, a work commissioned by the Philharmonic State Orchestra.
Highlights of recent seasons in Hamburg have included opera productions such as Boris Godunov, Salome, performances of Sciarrino's Venere e Adone and Britten's Peter Grimes, Les Troyens, Lulu, Lessons in Love and Violence and the world premiere of Stilles Meer as well as Les Contes d'Hoffmann in the new production by Daniele Finzi Pasca (released on DVD by EuroArts, February 2022), the “Philharmonic Academy” in St. Michaelis, open-air concerts at the Rathausmarkt and the world premiere of Pascal Dusapin's work Waves for organ and orchestra at the Elbphilharmonie. Orchestral tours with the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg have taken Kent Nagano to Japan, Spain and South America.
In the 2024/25 season, Kent Nagano conducts the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Passau, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal in Montréal and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester in Berlin, among others. He also conducts Dusapin's Il Vaggio, Dante in a production by Claus Guth at the Paris Opera and the revival of Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre in a production by Krzysztof Warlikowski at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich.
As a much sought-after guest conductor, Kent Nagano regularly works with leading international orchestras worldwide, including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique Radio France, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Paris, the Chicago and Detroit Symphony Orchestras, the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest and the Wiener Symphoniker. A special project was the Bernstein opera A quiet place at the Paris Opera. Other opera productions include the world premiere of Dusapin's Il viaggio, dante at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, Hindemith's Cardillac, Henze's Die Bassariden and the world premiere of Saariaho's L'amour de loin at the Salzburg Festival. Other world premieres conducted by Nagano include Bernstein's A White House Cantata and the operas Alice in Wonderland by Unsuk Chin, Three Sisters by Peter Eötvös and The Death of Klinghoffer and El Niño by John Adams.
Under the artistic direction of Kent Nagano and the Intendant of the Dresdner Musikfestspiele Jan Vogler, Wagner's Ring Tetralogy will be performed in the artistic context of the period in which it was composed, based on the latest findings of research into Wagner and performance practice, and integrated into an extensive supporting program as part of the multi-year project The Wagner Cycles of the Dresdner Musikfestspiele from 2023 to 2026. The first performance in 2023 was Das Rheingold at the Dresden Music Festival and the tour to Cologne, Ravello and Lucerne under the musical direction of Kent Nagano. Die Walküre followed in 2024 as the second work in the epochal narrative in Prague, Amsterdam, Cologne, Dresden, Hamburg and Lucerne.
Highlights of Kent Nagano's collaboration with the OSM as Music Director from 2006 to 2020 included the inauguration of the orchestra’s new concert hall La Maison Symphonique in September 2011, performances of the complete cycles of Beethoven and Mahler symphonies, Schoenberg's Gurrelieder, concert versions of Wagner's Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde and Das Rheingold, Honegger's Jeanne d'Arc au Bücher, and Messiaen's Saint François d'Assise. Tours have taken Nagano and the orchestra to Canada including the Northern Territories, Japan, South Korea, Europe (latest 2019), Latin America and the USA. In July 2018, Kent Nagano conducted Krzysztof Penderecki’s St. Luke Passion with the OSM at the Salzburg Festival opening concert.
His recordings with the OSM on Sony Classical/Analekta include Mahler’s Orchestral Songs with Christian Gerhaher in 2013 and a complete recording of all of Beethoven’s symphonies in 2015. Decca released a recording of the North American premiere of L'Aiglon, a rarely performed opera by Honegger and Ibert in 2016, conducted by Nagano in 2015. Further releases by Decca are Danse Macabre with works by Dukas, Saint-Saens, Ives and others in 2016 as well as a recording of Bernstein's A quiet place in 2018 on the occasion of the composer's 100th birthday. John Adams' Common tones in simple time & harmony (Decca) was released in 2019, the Lukas Passion by Penderecki (BIS) and works by Ginastera, Bernstein and Moussa (Analekta) in 2020.
At the Bayerische Staatsoper, where he was General Music Director from 2006 to 2013, Kent Nagano commissioned new operas such as Babylon by Jörg Widmann, Das Gehege by Wolfgang Rihm and Alice in Wonderland by Unsuk Chin. New productions included Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina, Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos and Die Frau ohne Schatten, Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmelites, Messiaen’s Saint François d'Assise, Berg’s Wozzeck, George Benjamin's Written on skin and Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. Tours took Nagano and the Bavarian State Orchestra through Europe and Japan. In addition to Bruckner's Symphonies Nos. 4 and 7 (Sony), Kent Nagano has released several opera performances with the Bavarian State Orchestra on DVD: Unsuk Chin's opera Alice in Wonderland (2008) and Mussorgsky's Chowanschtschina (2009) with unitel classica/medici arts, Dialogue des Carmélites with Bel Air Classiques (2011) and Lohengrin (2010) with Decca.
Another very important period in Nagano’s career was his time as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin from 2000-2006. He performed Schönberg’s Moses und Aron with the orchestra (in collaboration with Los Angeles Opera) and took them to the Salzburg Festival to perform both Zemlinsky’s Der König Kandaules and Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten, as well as to the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden with Parsifal and Lohengrin in productions by Nikolaus Lehnhoff. Recordings with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin for Harmonia Mundi include repertoire as diverse as Bernstein’s Mass, Bruckner’s Symphonies Nos. 3 & 6, Beethoven’s Christus am Ölberge, Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, Schönberg’s Die Jakobsleiter and Friede auf Erden, as well as Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 and Schönberg’s Variationen für Orchester Op. 31. In June 2006, at the end of his tenure with the orchestra, Kent Nagano was given the title Honorary Conductor by members of the orchestra – only the second recipient of this honour in their 60-year history. To this day he maintains a close friendship with the orchestra.
In October 2019, Kent Nagano and Mari Kodama expanded their joint recordings of Beethoven's works for piano and orchestra with Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 0 E-flat Major WoO 4, a nearly unknown work from the composer’s youth, and his Rondo for Piano and Orchestra WoO 6 with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. The complete edition of Beethoven’s piano concerti was released on the Berlin Classics label.
Nagano was awarded Grammys for his recordings of Busoni’s Doktor Faust with Opéra National de Lyon, Prokofjew’s Peter and the Wolf with the Russian National Orchestra and Saariaho’s L’amour de Loin with the Deutsches Symphonieorchester Berlin. He has worked with labels such as BIS, Decca, Sony Classical, FARAO Classics and Analekta for many years, and has also recorded CDs with Berlin Classics, Erato, Teldec, Pentatone, Deutsche Grammophon and Harmonia Mundi.
To celebrate Kent Nagano's 70th birthday in 2021, a 3-CD box set of works by Olivier Messiaen was released in October on the BR Klassik label. The release includes live recordings of the works Poèmes pour Mi, Chronochromie and La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ from his concerts with the Symphonieorchester und Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, demonstrating Nagano's close familiarity with Messiaen's musical language in a special way.
In September 2021, Kent Nagano published his second book with Berlin Verlag. In "10 Lessons of my Life", he recalls ten deeply personal encounters from which he learned important lessons, not only for his career but for his life more broadly. Among those experiences are encounters with the Icelandic pop artist Björk, Frank Zappa, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez and the Nobel Prize winner in physics Donald Glaser.
In 2015 Kent Nagano published "Erwarten Sie Wunder!" also in Berlin Verlag, a passionate appeal for the relevance of classical music in today's world. In 2019 the book was released in English by the Canadian McGill-Queen's University Press under the title ″Classical Music - Expect the Unexpected" and in 2015 under "Sonnez, merveilles!" in French by Éditions du Boréal.
Born in California, Nagano maintains close connections with his home state and was Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra from 1978-2009. His first major successes came with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1984, when Messiaen appointed him assistant to conductor Seiji Ozawa for the premiere of his opera Saint François d'Assise. Nagano’s success in America led to European appointments: Music Director of Opéra National de Lyon (1988-1998) and Music Director of the Hallé Orchestra (1991-2000). Kent Nagano became the first Music Director of Los Angeles Opera in 2003 having already held the position of Principal Conductor for two years.
Kent Nagano was awarded an honorary doctorate from McGill University in Montréal in 2005, an honorary doctorate from the Université de Montréal in 2006, and an honorary doctorate from San Francisco State University in 2018. Since 2017, Kent Nagano has been a "Compagnon" of the "Ordre des arts et des lettres" of Québec and in the fall of 2023, Kent Nagano was also awarded the title of "Chevalier" in the "Ordre des art et des lettres" of France. In February 2024, Kent Nagano was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by the Federal President and in June 2024 he was awarded the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honor. Kent Nagano is the recipient of the 2024 Brahms Prize of the Brahms Society of
Schleswig-Holstein.
More about Kent Nagano
photo: Dominik Odenkirchen
Theseus
Wolfram Koch
Actor
Wolfram Koch was born in Paris in 1962 and trained at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. His first engagements took him to the Freie Volksbühne, the Schiller Theater Berlin and the Schauspiel Frankfurt. From 1995 to 2000 he was a permanent member of the ensemble at the Schauspielhaus Bochum, since then he has worked freelance at the Schauspiel Frankfurt, the Thalia Theater Hamburg, the Schauspielhaus Zürich and the Deutsches Theater in Berlin, among others. Wolfram Koch has performed regularly for Dimiter Gotscheff and, since his role as the servant Mosca in Volpone, has formed “a new dream couple of the stage” with Samuel Finzi (Frankfurter Rundschau). The artistic quartet Koch, Finzi, Gotscheff and Almut Zilcher received the Berlin Theater Prize in 2011 for their “epoch-making performances in which great acting is combined with extraordinary, intelligent approaches to the material”. Samuel Finzi and Wolfram Koch were awarded the 2015 Gertrud Eysoldt Ring for their roles in Waiting for Godot (directed by Ivan Panteleev, invited to the 2015 Theatertreffen).
Koch made his cinema debut as a 13-year-old in Voytech Jasny's adaptation of the novel Views of a Clown (1975). His films include Draußen ist Sommer (2011, directed by Frederik Jehn), Ein großes Versprechen (2019, directed by Wendla Nölle) and Seneca (2021, directed by Robert Schwentke). Koch is also active as an audio book narrator and has played numerous roles in film and television. In October 2013, Hessischer Rundfunk presented him as the new Tatort commissioner for his home town of Frankfurt am Main, which he played until 2024.
photo: Klaus Dyba
Ariadne
Anja Kampe
Soprano
Birthplace:
Zella-Mehlis, Germany
Studies:
Vocal training in Dresden and Turin
Prizes:
Appointment as Bavarian Kammersängerin (2018)
Important parts:
Leonore (Fidelio), Brünnhilde (Ring des Nibelungen), Isolde (Tristan und Isolde), Ortrud (Lohengrin), Kundry (Parsifal), Sieglinde (Walküre), Senta (Der fliegende Holländer), Katerina Ismailova (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk), Floria Tosca (Tosca), Giorgetta (Tabarro), Minnie (Fanciulla del West), Ariadne (Ariadne auf Naxos), Carlotta (Die Gezeichneten), et al.
Stages:
Vienna State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Zurich Opera House, Opéra National de Paris, Bayreuth Festival, Ruhrtriennale, Salzburg Easter Festival, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro Real in Madrid, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Teatro di San Carlo, Budapest Wagner Days, Metropolitan Opera New York, Washington National Opera, San Francisco Opera, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Glyndebourne Festival, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Lydia Steier, Calixto Bieito, Willy Decker, Claus Guth, Andreas Homoki, Peter Konwitschny, Harry Kupfer, Dimitri Tschnerniakow, Richard Jones, Tatjana Gürbaca, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Zubin Mehta, Kirill Petrenko, Daniel Barenboim, Philippe Jordan, Christian Thielemann, Claudio Abbado, Semyon Bychkov, James Conlon, Mark Elder, Adam Fischer, Daniele Gatti, Valery Gergiev, Daniel Harding, Marek Janowski, Simone Young, Vladimir Jurowski, Jesùs López-Cobos, Fabio Luisi, Antonio Pappano, Riccardo Muti, Kent Nagano, Andris Nelsons, Kazushi Ono, Donald Runnicles, Franz Welser-Möst, et al.
photo: Sasha Vasiljev
Zerbinetta
Sofia Fomina
Soprano
Origin:
Russia
Studies:
Orlovsky Music College and Gnesin Academy of Music, Moscow
Important parts:
Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Gilda (Rigoletto), Isabelle (Robert le Diable), Berthe (Le prophète), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Oscar (Un Ballo in Maschera), Fiakermilli (Arabella), Musetta (La bohème), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Blondchen (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Olympia (Les contes d’Hoffmann), et al.
Stages:
Bayerische Staatsoper, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Glyndebourne Festival, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Seattle Opera, Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, Opéra national de Paris, Opernhaus Zürich, Theater an der Wien, Oper Frankfurt, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Sir David McVicar, Renaud Doucet, André Barbe, Christof Loy, Damiano Michieletto, Laurent Pelly, Johannes Erath, Arpad Schilling, Andreas Kriegenburg, Philipp Himmelmann, Lindy Hume, Stefano Vizioli, John Schlesinger, Andreas Gergen, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Fabio Luisi, Vladimir Jurowski, Jakub Hrusa, Edward Gardner, Teodor Currentzis, Marek Janowski, Kirill Petrenko, Evelino Pido, Constantin Trinks, Daniel Oren, et al.
photo: Alecsandra Raluca Dragoi & Olga Martinez
Bacchus
Jamez McCorkle
Tenor
Studies:
Curtis Institute of Music,
Mannes College, The New School for Music,
Loyola University, New Orleans
International Opera Studio in Zurich
Young Artist Program of the Salzburg Festival in 2017
Prizes:
Finalist in the Neue Stimmen competition in 2019, winner awards and competitions including the George London Competition, Sullivan Foundation, Brava! Opera Competition, National Opera Association Vocal Competition and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Gulf Coast Region
Important parts:
Duke of Cornwall (Lear), Omar (Omar), Telemaco (Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria), Peter the Honeyman (Porgy and Bess), Bacchus (Ariadne auf Naxos), Leonard Woolfe (The Hours), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Lensky (Eugene Onegin), Froh (Das Rheingold), et al.
Stages:
San Francisco Opera, Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen, Spoleto Festival, LA Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Vlaamse Opera, Carolina Performing Arts Center, San Francisco Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Theatre Basel, Metropolitan Opera, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Fabio Luisi, et al.
photo: Sophia Germer
Musiklehrer
Albert Dohmen
Bass-baritone
Albert Dohmen can look back on a long international career, the first highlight of which was his Wozzeck at the Salzburg Easter and Summer Festivals in 1997 with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras under the direction of Claudio Abbado and Peter Stein. Since then he has worked with renowned conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Claudio Abbado, James Levine, Georges Prêtre, Kurt Masur, Lorin Maazel and others. Kurwenal, Pizarro, Wotan, Amfortas, Dutchman, Scarpia, Bluebeard, Hans Sachs) at major international theaters such as the Bastille in Paris, Covent Garden in London, the Bavarian State Opera, the Zurich and Amsterdam Operas, the Liceo Barcelona, the Vienna State Opera, Los Angeles, etc. Albert Dohmen made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York as Jochanaan / Salome.
Albert Dohmen also established himself as one of the leading Wotan singers of his generation. He sang this role in complete Ring cycles in Trieste, Geneva, Catania, at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and at the Vienna State Opera, at the Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam and at the Metropolitan Opera New York, to name but a few.
Important opera projects in recent years have included the debuts as Hans Sachs / Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in Geneva and Barcelona, as Gurnemanz / Parsifal in Geneva, as Barak / Frau ohne Schatten in Florence under the baton of Zubin Mehta as well as productions of Elektra / Orest in Baden-Baden under Christian Thielemann, Salome / Jochanaan in Amsterdam, Don Giovanni / Commendatore at the Vienna State Opera, Flying Dutchman / Daland in Paris, Falstaff in Stuttgart, Tristan / King Marke in Barcelona and Meistersinger / Pogner at La Scala in Milan and his debut as Hagen at the Vienna State Opera in 2022. Wagner highlights in the 24/25 season include his debut with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra as Marke and Daland at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste.
Albert Dohmen made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival in 2007 in the Ring cycle as Wotan / Wanderer and was also heard in these roles in subsequent years of the production. In the 2015 - 2018 Ring cycles, he sang Alberich there. At the Bayreuth Festival 2022, he was engaged as Hagen / Götterdämmerung and made his debut as Landgrave / Tannhäuser.
Albert Dohmen is also very successful in the concert sector: he has sung the entire bass repertoire from Bach to Schönberg in almost all major concert halls and at international festivals. These include Beethoven's 9th Symphony under Kurt Masur with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Brahms' Requiem, also under Kurt Masur at the St. Denis Festival, Mahler's 8th Symphony under Valery Gergiev and Gurre-Lieder and Beethoven's 9th under James Levine. In addition, he has various song programs that he presents in renowned concert halls. In 2021, Albert Dohmen was given a special honour when he was invited to sing Shostakovich's 13th Symphony with the DSO Berlin under the direction of Thomas Sanderling in a concert organized by the Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial. Most recently, he sang with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under Lorenzo Viotti in Rachmaninov's The Bells. In the 24/25 season, he will sing numerous concerts, including Mahler's 8th Symphony in Prague and Bremen, Beethoven's 9th Symphony in Toulouse and Schönberg's Gurre-Lieder in Duisburg.
Among the numerous CDs that document his artistic work, his recordings of Zemlinsky's Florentine Tragedy with the Concertgebouw Orkest under the direction of Riccardo Chailly and his three recordings under Sir Georg Solti (Frau ohne Schatten, Fidelio and Meistersinger) are particularly noteworthy.
Photo: Renato Zacchia
photo: Renato Zacchia
Komponist
Ella Taylor
Soprano
Birthplace:
Sheffield, United Kingdom
Studies:
University of Sheffield; Royal Academy of Music, London (Distinction in MA Performance, Dip RAM); National Opera Studio, London
Prizes:
Charles Norman Prize, Royal Academy of Music; Second Prize, Kathleen Ferrier Awards
Important Roles:
The Governess/The Turn of the Screw, Füchslein/Das schlaue Füchslein, Fiordiligi/Così fan tutte, Donna Anna/Don Giovanni, Anne Trulove/The Rake’s Progress
Important Stages:
Royal Ballet and Opera, London; English National Opera; Glyndebourne; Dutch National Opera
Cooperations with conductors:
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Nefeli Chadouli, Karen Kamensek, Bertrand de Billy, Jonathan Bloxham, Semyon Bychkov, Finnegan Downie Dear, Adam Hickox, Manoj Kamps, Rory Macdonald, Michael Papadopoulos, Eduardo Strausser, Oliver Zeffman
photo: Christa Holka
Ein Offizier
Michael Heim
tenor
Origin:
Thüringen (Vorarlberg), Austria
Studies:
Study of pedagogy (music teacher); then ten years as a journalist for "Vorarlberger Nachrichten"; Singing Studies with Prof. Habib Samadzadeh, Nicolai Gedda and Franzisco Araiza; since 2009 with KS Irmgard Boas in Dresden, Germany
Prizes:
Scholarship holder of the Richard-Wagner Stiftung, Order of Honour for the Arts of Cordon Bleu du Saint Esprit
Important parts:
Siegfried (Siegfried), Erik (Fliegender Holländer), Lohengrin (Lohengrin), Max (Der Freischütz), Florestan (Fidelio), Alfredo (La traviata), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Turiddu (Cavalleria rusticana), Narraboth (Salome), Paganini (Paganini), Graf Tassilo (Gräfin Mariza), Gabriel von Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), Adam (Der Vogelhändler), Edwin (Die Csárdásfürstin), Herzog Guido von Urbino (Eine Nacht in Venedig), et al.
Stages:
Opernhaus Zürich, Luzerner Theater, Staatsoperette Dresden, Oper Leipzig Musikalische Komödie, Theater St. Gallen, Wiener Kammeroper, Musik Theater Schönbrunn, Opera di Genova Teatro Carlo Felice, Teatro Verdi di Trieste, Theater Chemnitz Opernhaus, Aalto Musiktheater Essen, Seebühne Bregenz, Tiroler Landestheater (Innsbruck), Lincoln Center New York, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Die Glocke (Das Bremer Konzerthaus), Brucknerhaus Linz, Beethovenhalle Bonn, Philharmonie Essen, Kölner Philharmonie, Münchner Residenz, Frauenkirche Dresden, Dresdner Philharmonie, Berliner Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Berlin, Salzburger Festspiele, Schubertiade Hohenems, Lehár Festival Bad Ischl, Seefestspiele Mörbisch, Tokio, Aberdeen, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Kurt Masur, Peter Schreier, Manfred Honeck, Robin Ticciati, Jörg Demus, Kirill Petrenko, Ralf Weikert, Raphael Frühbeck de Burgos, Vladimir Jurowski, Johannes Wildner, Herbert Mogg, Franz Bauer-Theussel, Alfred Eschwé, Lukas Beikircher, Ernst Theis, Laurence Dale, et al.
More about Michael Heim
Tanzmeister
Peter Tantsits
Tenor
Birthplace:
Allentown, Pennslyvania USA
Studies:
Yale University, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme
Important parts:
Emigrante (Intolleranza), Maximilian Aue (Les Bienveillantes), Herodes (Salome), Desportes (Die Soldaten), Piet vom Fass (Le Grand Macabre), Aegisth (Elektra), Wachtmeister (Die Nase), Graf Ferraud (Oberst Chabert), Alviano (Die Gezeichneten), Erik (Der fliegende Holländer), Eumolpe (Perséphone), Gandhi (Satyagraha), Andres (Wozzeck), Perelà (Perelà - Uomo di Fumo), Danilowitz (L’étoile du nord), Oscar Ekdahl (Fanny och Alexander), Pellerin (Volo di notte), Poe (The Voyage of Edgar Allan Poe), L’Autre (Point d’orgue), Michael (Donnerstag aus Licht), Electrician (Powder Her Face), Mr. Smith (Die kahle Sängerin), John Worthing (The Importance of Being Earnest), Georges Méliès (Die Reise zum Mond) et al.
Stages:
Teatro alla Scala Mailand, Salzburger Festspiele, Bayerische Staatsoper, Gran Teatre del Liceu, La Monnaie / De Munt, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Semperoper Dresden, Los Angeles Opera, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, New National Theatre Tokyo, Theater Basel, Oper Köln, Berliner Philharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Musiikkitalo Helsinki, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Beijing Music Festival, Festival d’Automne à Paris, Holland Festival, Wiener Festwochen, Osterfestspiele Baden-Baden et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Lydia Steier, Calixto Bieito, Peter Sellars, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Milo Rau, Ivo van Hove, William Kentridge, Herbert Fritsch, Robert Lepage, Benedikt von Peter, Barbora Horáková, Antony McDonald, Robert Woodruff, Andreas Kriegenburg, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Simon Rattle, Kirill Petrenko, Sakari Oramo, Thomas Adès, Alan Gilbert, Peter Rundel, Emmanuelle Haïm, Titus Engel, Fabio Luisi, Leonard Slatkin, Lorin Maazel, Kazushi Ono, Tito Ceccherini, Joana Mallwitz, Hannu Lintu, André de Ridder, Emilio Pomàrico, Ariane Matiakh, Josep Pons et al.
photo: Don Freeman
Perückenmacher
Grzegorz Pelutis
Baritone
Birthplace:
Słupsk, Poland
Studies:
Bachelor and Masters at Academy of Art in Szczecin, both graduated with honours, Janusz Lewandowski’s singing class (2016-2021)
Master classes:
Opera Academy Young Talent Development Programme of the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera In Warsaw (since 2021):
Consant tutelage by: Izabela Kłosińska, Olga Pasiecznik, Eytan Pessen, Matthias Rexroth, Michał Biel, Katelan Tran Terrell;
Guest masterclasses: Edith Wiens, Ewa Podleś, Mariusz Kwiecień, Maciej Pikulski, Hedwig Fassbender, Tobias Truniger, Adrian Kelly, Vesselina Kassarova, Fausto Nardi, Małgorzata Walewska
Prizes:
3rd prize and Juan Pons Prize at I International Juan Pons Singing Competition - Palma de Mallorca, Spain, June 2022
2nd prize winner at 1st Swiss International Music Competition – online, July 2021
2nd prize winner and special prize winner of the Director of the K. Namysłowski Symphony Orchestra in Zamość at 7th Krystyna Jamroz National Vocal Competition - Kielce/Busko-Zdrój, Poland, February 2022
3rd prize winner at 7th National Vocal Competition in Drezdenko, Poland, November 2021
3rd prize winner in"Opera Singers" category at"Prague Romansiada" competition, Prague 2017
Only Polish contestant of Plácido Domingo's Operalia 2022
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since the season 2023/24
Important parts:
Chorąży “Ensign” (Hrabina - "The Countess"), Dudziarz (Halka), The Mayor “Burmistrz” (Szarlatan, czyli wskrzeszanie zmarłych - “Charlatan, or resurrection of the dead”), Escamillo (Carmen), Archiereios (King Roger), et al.
Stages:
Teatr Wielki – National Polish Opera, The Castle Opera in Szczecin, Polish Philharmonic "Sinfonia Baltica" named after Wojciech Kilar in Słupsk, Gorzów Philharmonic, Tadeusz Baird Philharmonic in Zielona Góra, Stanisław Moniuszko Philharmonic in Koszalin, Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic in Cracow, Various concerts across Europe, e. g. Berlin, Kaliningrad, Prague, Magdeburg, Warsaw, Varna
Cooperation with directors:
Mariusz Treliński, Barbara Wiśniewska, Rafał Matusz, Jitka Stokalska, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Jerzy Wołosiuk, Małgorzata Bornowska, Tadeusz Kozłowski, Michał Klauza, Agnieszka Franków-Żelazny, Stefan Plewniak, et al.
photo: Jörn Kipping
Betrunkener Gast
Hubert Kowalczyk
Bass
Birthplace:
Radom, Poland
Studies:
Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin with Prof. Martin Bruns and Prof. Dr. Michail Lanskoi; Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali "Pietro Mascagni" in Livorno with Prof. Graziano Polidori; Young Talents Development Program - Opera Academy in Warsaw
Master class:
Lioba Braun, Helmut Deutsch, Brigitte Fassbaender, Tomasz Konieczny, Bogdan Makal, Olga Pasiecznik, Eytan Pessen, Rudolf Piernay, Matthias Rexroth, Harald Stamm, et al.
Important parts:
Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro), Collatinus (The Rape of Lucretia), Colline (La Bohème), Crespel (Les Contes d'Hoffmann), Haly (L'italiana in Algeri), Nourabad (Les Pêcheurs de perles), Oroveso (Norma), Pistola (Falstaff), Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Zuniga (Carmen), et al.
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2021/22 season
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera from 2019/20 to 2021/22
Stages:
Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Zurich Opera House, Bregenz Festival, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatr Wielki - Opera Narodowa, Opera Rara Festival in Krakow, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Calixto Bieito, David Bösch, Frank Castorf, Petra Deidda, Brigitte Fassbaender, Herbert Fritsch, Alexander Riemenschneider, Dmitri Tcherniakov, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Matteo Beltrami, Bertrand de Billy, Giampaolo Bisanti, Jonathan Brandani, Daniele Callegari, Paolo Carignani, Nicholas Carter, Vladimir Conta, Axel Kober, Volker Krafft, Carlo Montanaro, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Kent Nagano, Ivan Repušić, Sébastien Rouland, Robin Ticciati, Keri-Lynn Wilson, Lidiya Yankovskaya, et al.
More about Hubert Kowalczyk
photo: Martina Cyman
Harlekin
Björn Bürger
Baritone
Birthplace:
Rodgau, Germany
Studies:
singing at the Frankfurt Conservatoire, taught by Hedwig Fassbender
Master classes:
with Kurt Moll, Helmut Deutsch and Christoph Pregardien.
Prizes:
Winner of the Frankfurt Polytechnic Society competition (2012),
First Prize in the Bundeswettbewerb Gesang competition in Berlin (2012)
Important parts:
Don Giovanni/Masetto (Don Giovanni), Il Conte di Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Marquis von Posa (Don Carlos), Doktor Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Figaro (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus), Harlekin (Ariadne auf Naxos), Wolfram von Eschenbach (Tannhäuser), Billy Budd (Billy Budd), Georg (Der Mieter), Dandini (La Cenerentola), Owen Windgrave (Owen Windgrave), Frank/Fritz (Die tote Stadt), Pelléas (Pelléas et Mélisande), König Argante (Rinaldo), Osmin (Mozarts Zaide), Bengtsson (Die Gespenstersonate), Schaunard (La Boheme), Astolfo (Orlando Furioso), Don Bucefalo (Le cantatrici villane)
Stages:
Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Opéra National du Rhin, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Opéra National de Paris, Norwegische Oper Oslo, Bayerische Staatsoper, Semperoper Dresden, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Opéra de Lausanne, De Nationale Opera Amsterdam, Oper Frankfurt, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Glyndebourne Festival, Händelfestspiele Kralsruhe
Cooperations with directors:
Christoph Loy, Robert Carsen et.al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Ingo Metzmacher, Kirill Garrijewitsch Petrenko et.al.
More about Björn Bürger
photo: Matthias Baus
Scaramuccio
Florian Panzieri
Tenor
Birthplace:
Paris, France
Studies:
History and Politics, University of Warwick
Singing, Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2022/2023 season
Important parts:
Peter Quint (The Turn of the Screw), Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore), Primo Pastore (Orfeo), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Berthold (Scoring a Century), Erasmus (Silvesternacht), 1. und 3. Vorarbeiter (Lady Macbeth von Mzensk), Un Venditore di Canzonette (Il trittico), et al.
Stages:
Garsington Opera, Reggio Emilia Teatro Valli, The Merry Opera, British Youth Opera, Royal Opera House London, Staatsoper Hamburg, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Paul Curran, John Caird, Keith Warner, Fabio Condemi, Axel Ranisch, Mart Van Berckel, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Kent Negano, Giampaolo Bisanti, Francesco Bossaglia, Ivan Repusic, et al.
More about Florian Panzieri
photo: Benjamin Reason
Truffaldin
Stephan Bootz
Bass, Bass-Baritone
Birthplace:
Mainz, Germany
Studies:
Singing/music theater (diploma), HfM Hanns Eisler Berlin
Important parts:
Wotan (Das Rheingold), Wotan (Die Walküre), Der Wanderer (Siegfried), König Marke (Tristan und Isolde), Kaspar/Eremit (Der Freischütz), Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Il grande Inquisitore (Don Carlo), Pimen (Boris Godunov), Jochanaan (Salome), Il padre Guardiano (La forza del destino), Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte), Oroveso (Norma), Ramfis (Aida)
Stages:
Staatstheater Mainz (Stammhaus), Staatsoper Stuttgart, Ruhrtriennale, Theater Freiburg, Landestheater Niederbayern, Staatstheater Darmstadt, Stadttheater Gießen, Staatstheater Oldenburg, Staatstheater Cottbus, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe
Cooperations with directors:
Dimitri Tcherniakov, Elisabeth Stöppler, Lydia Steier, Immo Karaman, Alexander Nerlich, Johannes Reitmeier, Eva-Maria Höckmayr, Robert Lehmeier, Stefan Tilch, Luise Kautz, Bernd Mottl, Frank Hilbrich
Cooperations with conductors:
Dennis Russel Davies, Hermann Bäumer, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Phillipe Jordan
More about Stephan Bootz
photo: Peter Litvai
Brighella
Daniel Kluge
Tenor
Birthplace:
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Studies:
Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe with Klaus Dieter Kern
Master classes:
with Roman Trekel, Julia Varady and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as well as master classes for „Liedgesang“ with Markus Hadulla, Mitsuko Shirai and Hartmut Höll
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2019/20 season
Important parts:
Normanno (Lucia di Lammermoor), Abdallo (Nabucco), Remendado (Carmen), Flavio (Norma), Knappe und 1. Gralsritter (Parsifal), Kilian (Freischütz), Dr. Blind (Die Fledermaus), Spoletta (Tosca), Schreiber (Chowanschtschina), Jacquino (Fidelio), Ein Soldat (Reigen), Chick (Der Schaum der Tage), Borsa (Rigoletto), Knusperhexe (Hänsel und Gretel), Orpheus (Orpheus in der Unterwelt), Pedrillo (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Truffaldino (Die Liebe zu drei Orangen), Balakin (Charodeyka), Max (Der Freischütz), Tanzmeister (Ariadne auf Naxos), Steuermann (Der fliegende Holländer), Vierter Jude (Salome), et al.
Stages:
Staatsoper Stuttgart, Staatsoper Wien, Volksoper Wien, Stadttheater Bern, Aalto-Theater Essen, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Nationaltheater Mannheim, Opéra National de Lyon, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Jossi Wieler, Sergio Morabito, Kirill Serebrennikov, Nicola Hümpel , Tobias Hoheisel, Imogen Kogge, Armin Petras, Demis Volpi, Axel Ranisch, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Sylvain Cambreling, Georg Fritzsch, Roland Kluttig, Giacomo Sagripanti, Johannes Witt, Hans Christoph Bünger, Kirill Karabits, Willem Wentzel, Alejo Pérez, Christopher Schmitz, et al.
photo: Martina Cyman
Najade
Olivia Warburton
Soprano
Birthplace:
Lincolnshire, United Kingdom
Studies:
Royal Academy of Music, London (Bachelor of Music with honours, Master of Arts with distinction, Artist Diploma in Opera studies), Hochschule für Musik und Tanz, Köln (Erasmus MA), Georg Solti Accademia, Tuscany.
Masterclasses:
Anne Sofie von Otter (Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme), Richard Bonynge (Georg Solti Accademia), Barbara Frittoli (Georg Solti Accademia), Rachel Willis-Sørensen (Royal Academy of Music), Florian Boesch (Royal Academy of Music).
Prizes:
Winner of Arthur Bucher Memorial Prize for highest mark in final recital, Prize winner at the 1st International Haydn Competition in Vienna, Finalist in Renata Tebaldi Competition 2022.
Important parts:
Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Euridice (L’anima del Filosofo), Anne Frank (Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank), Teseo (Teseo), Valetto (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Fox (The Cunning Little Vixen), L’enfant (L’enfant et les sortilèges), et al.
Stages:
Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar; Festival d’Aix en Provence; The Grange Festival; Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris; London Handel Festival; Halle Handel Festival; Wigmore Hall, London; Oxford Lieder Festival; The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace; Aldeburgh Festival; Lincoln Centre, New York; Royal Festival Hall, London et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Simon McBurney, Tim Supple, Jack Furness, Jonathan Moore, Kay Kuntze, Martin Duncan, Olivia Fuchs, Oliver Platt.
Cooperations with conductors:
John Adams, Masaaki Suzuki, Jane Glover, Gregor Bühl, Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Jan Pascal Tortelier, Finnegan Downie Dear, Laurence Cummings, Victor Jacob, Ruben Gazarian, et al.
More about Olivia Warburton
photo: Elena Ramirez
Dryade
Aebh Kelly
Mezzo-Soprano
Birthplace:
Dublin, Ireland
Studies:
Mascarade Emerging Artists, Florence
Georg Solti Accademia
Irish National Opera Studio
Royal Irish Academy of Music (BMus)
Master class:
Richard Bonynge, Aigul Akhmetshina, Freddie De Tommaso (Georg Solti Accademia), Vivica Genaux (Mascarade Emerging Artists), Tara Erraught, Paula Murrihy (Irish National Opera), Bernarda Fink (Neue Stimmen Masterclass), Ann Murray (Royal Irish Academy of Music)
Prizes:
2nd Prize & Dermot Troy Prize (Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition)
Final Round (Neue Stimmen)
1st Prize (Maura Dowdall Concerto Competition)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2024/2025 season.
Important parts:
Dido (Dido & Aeneas), Flora (La Traviata), Olga (Eugene Onegin), Popova (The Bear), Endimione (La Calisto), Catherine (A Thing I Cannot Name), Melissa (La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina)
Stages:
Teatro La Fenice, Theater und Orchester Heidelberg, Teatr Wielki Opera, National Opera House Wexford, Cork Opera House, National Concert Hall Dublin
Cooperation with directors:
Marie Lambert-Le Bihan, Noa Naamat, Jean-Romain Vesperini, Pedro Ribiero, Federico Grazzini, Olivia Fuchs, Sonja Trebes
Cooperation with conductors:
Laurent Wagner, Roland Kluttig, Jonathan Santagada, Jonathan Bloxham, Wyn Davies, Christian Curnyn, Fergus Sheil, Killian Farrel, David Brophy, Jonathan Cole-Swinard
More about Aebh Kelly
photo: Jörn Kipping
Echo
Marie Maidowski
Soprano
Birthplace:
Berlin, Germany
Studies:
Bachelor in singing and music theater with KS Prof. Julie Kaufmann at the Berlin University of the Arts Master in concert singing with KS Prof. Christiane Iven at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich
Master class:
19th Lotte Lehmann Week in Perleberg (2016)
Masterclass with Prof. Marga Schiml in Switzerland (2019)
Masterclass with Prof. Gabriele Lechner in Baden near Vienna (2020)
Prizes:
Scholarship from the Young Musicians Foundation in Mühlheim (2018) Scholarship from the Cusanuswerk study grant (since 2020) Finalist at the German National Singing Competition in the Junior Competition category (2020) Scholarship from the German Stage Association (2023) Staetshuys Fund Prize and Van Amelsvoort Prize for the best interpretation of a work by a female composer at the International Vocal Competition 2023 in `s Hertogenbosch with Lied Duo partner YoungSeob Jeon
Audience and jury prize at the HIDALGO Song Prize 2023 with Lied Duo partner YoungSeob Jeon
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera from the 2024/25 season
Important parts:
Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro), Nurse (Alzheim), Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro), Silvia (L'isola disabitata), Lovis (Der Baumgeist), Papagena (Die Zauberflöte), Daphne Colgate (Georgia Bottoms), et al.
Stages:
Staatstheater Cottbus, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Cuvilliéstheater Munich, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Frank Hilbrich, Bernarda Horres, Tomo Sugao, Maximilian Berling, Isabel Hindersin, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Errico Fresis, Johannes Zurl, Johanna Soller, Aris Blettenberg, Henri Bonamy, Gad Kadosh, et al.
More about Marie Maidowski
photo: Jörn Kipping
Orchester
Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg
Orchestra
The Philharmonic State Orchestra is Hamburg’s largest and oldest orchestra, looking back on many years of musical history. When the “Philharmonic Orchestra” and the “Orchestra of the Hamburg Municipal Theatre” merged in 1934, two tradition-steeped orchestras combined. Philharmonic concerts have been performed in Hamburg since 1828, artists such as Clara Schumann, Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms being regular guests of the Philharmonic Society. The history of the opera company goes back even further: Hamburg has been home to musical theatre since 1678, even if a regular opera or theatre orchestra was only formed later. To this day, the Philharmonic State Orchestra has embodied the sound of the Hansa City, a concert and opera orchestra in one.
During its long history, the orchestra encountered great artist personalities. Apart from composers of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, such as Telemann, Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Mahler, Prokofiev and Stravinsky, since the 20th century chief conductors such as Karl Muck, Joseph Keilberth, Eugen Jochum, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Horst Stein, Aldo Ceccato, Christoph von Dohnányi, Gerd Albrecht, Ingo Metzmacher and Simone Young have shaped the orchestra’s sound. Renowned conductors of the pre-war era such as Otto Klemperer, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bruno Walter, Karl Böhm and Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt gave brilliant performances, as did outstanding conductors of our times: suffice it to mention Christian Thielemann, Semyon Bychkov, Kirill Petrenko, Adam Fischer and Sir Roger Norrington.
Starting with the 2015/2016 season, Kent Nagano has taken on the position of Hamburg’s General Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic State Orchestra and the Hamburg State Opera and since June 2023 also its honorary conductor. In his first season Kent Nagano initiated a new project, the Philharmonic Academy, focusing on experimentation and chamber music. In 2016, Nagano and the Philharmonic toured South America, followed by concert tours to Spain and Japan in 2019, and in the spring of 2023, the Philharmonic State Orchestra made its debut at New York's Carnegie Hall under his direction, which was acclaimed by audiences and the press. Since 2017 Kent Nagano and the Philharmonic State Orchestra have continued the traditional Philharmonic Concerts at the new Elbphilharmonie, for which they commissioned Jörg Widmann to compose the oratorio ARCHE, which was given its world premiere during the hall’s opening festivities. The concert recording has been released by ECM, for which Widmann received the OPUS KLASSIK as Composer of the Year 2019, and ARCHE was performed again in 2023 to great acclaim.
The Philharmonic State Orchestra offers approximately 35 concerts per season and performs more than 240 performances per year at the Hamburg State Opera and the Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier, making it Hamburg’s busiest orchestra. The stylistic bandwidth covered by the 140 musicians, ranging from historically informed performance practice to contemporary works and including concert, opera and ballet repertoire, is unique throughout Germany. Chamber Music has a long tradition at the Philharmonic State Orchestra: what began in 1929 with a concert series for chamber orchestra has been continued since 1968 by a series of chamber music only.
In 2008 Simone Young and the Philharmonic State Orchestra won the Brahms Award of the Schleswig-Holstein Brahms Society. The orchestra has recorded the complete Ring by Wagner as well as the complete symphonies of Johannes Brahms and Anton Bruckner – the latter in the rarely-performed original versions – as well as works by Mahler, Hindemith and Berg, and has released DVDs of opera and ballet productions by Hosokawa, Offenbach, Reimann, Auerbach, J.S. Bach, Puccini, Poulenc and Weber.
The members of the Philharmonic State Orchestra feel equally beholden to Hamburg’s musical tradition and responsible for the city’s artistic future. Since 1978 the musicians have been participating in education programmes in Hamburg’s schools. Today, the orchestra maintains a broad education programme, including school and kindergarten visits, patronage for music projects, introductory events for children and family concerts. The orchestra’s own academy prepares young musicians for their professional careers. The Philharmonic’s musicians thereby make an equally enjoyable and valuable contribution to tomorrow’s music education in the music metropolis of Hamburg.
More about Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg
photo: Foto: Felix Broede
